Special

Whew, this week has been a doozy. †It’s been SO AWESOME with confirming a local Atlanta wedding, AND booking 2 weddings in Boston in the space of one week. †What are the chances? And HOW FREAKING COOL! †I am so super excited to travel for weddings, and so happy that my future brides and grooms took a chance and invited me to their party. †Awesome! Thank you! Ya’ll rock!

If you’re getting married this year, you should think about inviting me to your party, or invite LeahAndMark because they are awesome epitomized (Mark especially), and let’s not forget the other super awesome (OMGBBQ!) + Photographers +Raven and +Jo. †We’re a pretty cool group around here. †We liven up any party, and make kick butt pictures to remember the party, just in case it ends up being that kind of party†;)

Let’s not forget that we have an awesome Army of Interns (go check out their blogs right now!)

There’s alot of forced change happening in my life, and in some ways it’s exciting and in some it’s a bit terrifying †nail biting†awesome. †I remember hitting my 25th birthday and heaving a massive sigh of relief, like, whew I survived. †I went back to college finished my degree and thought blamo, it’s all solved, figured, sorted…and the rest would uhm, just fall into my lap. †Pff, I never thought that, not even for a second, but I did have a restful phase…and now I have a 30th birthday around the corner.and goals and dreams, and insert whatever other real world situations like bills, etc. to support. †Yip. †That’s life…at least a part of it.

Right. †I know it’s not going to fall in my lap, and nobody is going to give it to me. †I just hope I can go get it for myself, and for my family. †It’s a new game this year, and I plan to win it.

Having a kid makes Christmas a totally different celebration that it used to be when I was a “non-mom”. †Last year when I was pregnant I wanted a real tree, bought decorations, and we decorated for the first time ever. †My fiance chalked it up to hormones. †Before that, christmas lights were cheap lighting for the patio so we could see the beer cooler. †Christmas this year has been exciting in a new way, watching our son, Shannon, open gifts, and giggle at lights and reach for christmas ornaments has been exhilirating. †His new found mobility makes the tree even more alluring for little hands, and making me quite the marathon dasher. †I spend as much time watching him eye ball trinkets as prying them away from his mouth.

For a special treat we had Santa come to our house to hear christmas wishes and make sure everybody was on good behaviour. †It was pretty awesome, I haven’t seen Santa in a LONG LONG time, and it was amazing, I feel giddy like a small child again! †Santa was in his work clothes, as you know, he only wears his suit when delivering gifts ūüėČ

One of the things I am most looking forward to is seeing Shannon rip open gifts and squeal in delight at the glitter or ribbons, the ripping of paper, and the endless amusement of empty boxes. †For Shannon it’s not the gifts that are important, I wrapped up stuff he’s had for months just for the fun of him opening it. †For us adults, it’s watching the kids and seeing their enjoyment.

It’s the giving and receiving, having everybody around to smile and laugh. †It’s the warmth of family that makes it special, and so far this has been the best christmas ever. †I feel so loved and blessed, and am so thankful for the large and loving family we have. † †I send the same joy to everybody reading this.To add to the excitement we set up the photobooth in the living room and let everybody take pictures. †We even used wrapping paper as a backdrop and really got to enjoy the simple things, and I got to finally have a picture of my own little family together, instead of always being behind the lense ūüėČ

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

This is Denise and Thomas. Earlier this year I flew up to Newark, NJ to photograph their engagement session! That was pretty awesome. PLUS – I still kind of get a kick out of flying into a new city, shooting for a few hours, and then flying back down to Atlanta. This year I was able to do that for a family portrait in Philadelphia, and engagement sessions in Wilmington, NC and Pomona, California. OH – and of course there was that crazy 24 hour trip to New York with the dead bodies.*

I actually flew into Philadelphia and then drove an hour north into New Jersey for this wedding. Now – a few things surprised me, but mostly the fact that New Jersey’s got some pretty damn beautiful countryside. Who knew right? Seriously.

Also? Denise and Thomas are absolutely awesome. Like in your face awesome. Like OMG they’re so awesome you probably won’t realize it because you were distracted by how awesome they are. See? Yes. They’re paradoxically awesome. Like going back-in-time-and-killing-your-grandfather paradox awesome. Whoa. I know. I was just as surprised as you are right now.

It only seems right to start out by saying a HUGE thank you to Heather and Todd (and Alexander) for letting me be a part of their special day. †You are wonderful people, and I wish you a long and happy marriage!

Heather and Todd got married in their own backyard. †It was phenomenal. †Everything was close to home, close to the heart, and I could feel the love that Heather and Todd share. †You could practically smell the deep and abiding love that their friends and family have for them. †Everything was done in house, with a few small favours from vendors here and there, and sharing the entire day with the entire guest list was pretty awesome.

When I first walked into Heather and Todd’s house I was instantly in love. †From the wall of books surrounding the TV, to the bright carpets on the floor, the framed comic books and blue walls. †It was the uber nice more adult version of my first apartment with my own boyfriend, some years ago now. †I swear, we had the exact same blue in our tiny shotgun apartment, many moons ago. †I instantly liked Heather, who chatted about commuting in LA, and her job at the CDC like we had met years ago. †Alexander played videogames, and was quick to challenge me to a battle royale on Modern Warfare, which I hope we are able to play one of these days. †Todd busied himself in the kitchen, and if you know anything about me, you know I love food. †I was instantly at ease, and kept thinking, “please pick me to shoot your wedding”, and they did! †Thanks for taking a chance with me, and for sharing your special times, ya’ll rock!

I loved that †the wedding was in their backyard, literally, outside their living room was a beautiful area set up lovingly by friends and family for an intimate and heart felt ceremony, and mealtime. †I especially liked that they had a ring warming ceremony, a chance for the guests to hold the rings and infuse them with thoughts of peaceful and harmonious days together as a husband and wife. †Heather and Alexander read vows to eachother as step son and step mom, with a promise to be friends through the years. †I teared up a bit at that, mixed families can have certain challenges, and knowing that they promised to work together, and keep in tune with eachothers needs was extra thoughtful.

Some close friends read selected verses as part of the ceremony. †One of the poems was by Sandol Stoddard, titled “I Like You.” †To me it is one of the most perfect summations of a beautiful relationship, it’s about a deep and abiding friendship, and passionate love, that makes for a good marriage. †The poem is a bit long, but in closing I leave you with this, hoping we all have somebody to like, if not now, then one day in the future.

I Like You†by Sandol Stoddard Warburg†

I like you and I know why.
I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know itís special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, ďRemember when you told me something special?Ē
And both of us remember

When I think something is important
you think itís important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think Iím funny and you think Iím funny too
Hah-hah!

I like you because you know where Iím ticklish
And you donít tickle me there except just a little tiny bit sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too

You know how to be silly
Thatís why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because you know when itís time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Too late, itís a quarter past silly!

Sometimes we donít say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus hollering my head off
You are one too
If I pretend I am drowning, you pretend you are saving me
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump
HOORAY!

Thatís because you really like me
You really like me, donít you?
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And thatís the way we keep on going every day

If you go away, then I go away too
or if I stay home, you send me a postcard
You donít just say ďWell see you around sometime, byeĒ
I like you a lot because of that
If I go away, I send you a postcard too
And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me

And I like you because when I am feeling sad
You donít always cheer me up right away
Sometimes it is better to be sad
You canít stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute
You want to think about things
It takes time
I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too
Itís awful when the other person isnít
They are so nice and hoo-hoo you could just about punch them in the nose

I like you because if I think I am going to throw up
then you are really sorry
You donít just pretend you are busy looking at the birdies and all that
You say, maybe it was something you ate
You say, the same thing happened to me one time
And the same thing did

If you find two four-leaf clovers, you give me one
If I find four, I give you two
If we only find three, we keep on looking
Sometimes we have good luck, and sometimes we donít
If I break my arm, and if you break your arm too
Then itís fun to have a broken arm
I tell you about mine, you tell me about yours
We are both sorry
We write our names and draw pictures
We show everybody and they wish they had a broken arm too

I like you because I donít know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I canít remember when I didnít like you
It must have been lonesome then
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do

So many reasons
On the 4th of July I like you because itís the 4th of July
On the fifth of July, I like you too
If you and I had some drums and some horns and some horses
If we had some hats and some flags and some fire engines
We could be a HOLIDAY
We could be a CELEBRATION
We could be a WHOLE PARADE

See what I mean?
Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again

Thatís how it would happen every time
I donít know why
I guess I donít know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I like you.

Beth and I never actually met until the day of her wedding. I always think situations like that are so funny; they remind me of blind dates. Situations where I get to walk into the room and go “Sooo . . . who’s my bride?!” With a big, crazy smile on my face.

Luckily, this one was pretty easy to figure out.

Beth is pretty fantastic. She let us do our thing, and posed like a freakin’ professional. Tyra would have been proud. Girl did a fabulous job.

She got ready at a B&B near the Trolley Barn, the wedding venue, and if you’re saying to yourself “wait, there are B&B’s near Inman Park?!” Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I’d never been to a B&B, but had always wanted to, so I was a little thrilled. I was also {more than} a little thrilled that we got to sample some STUNNING sausage biscuits from a diner down the street. I say down the street, but on foot it felt like 10 days away.

I digress.

At the risk of becoming repetitive, the wedding was a lot of fun. You can really tell Beth & Tim love each other. They both have super fun families, Tim’s sisters especially {and incredibly talented; one sang during the ceremony and they both played strings for it}. The wedding was beautiful – we were lucky enough to bring some of the flowers home with us at the end of the day: FAB.

Have we mentioned that we do family portraits? And newborns? And Maternity sessions? And… heck. Pet Portraits? And I know we should probably have some wording on this website about how we ‘capture the true emotion and essence of your family’† or ‘we capture your personality, your quirks, your You’… um.

Well. I just want to make nice photos. um. Really nice photos?

Whether it’s in Arizona, Pennsylvania, here in Georgia, or anywhere else – having photos of your family is important. Sure I’m a photographer so of course I believe that – but over the past few months we’ve really started focusing on booking more maternity, newborn, and family portraits. With all of those sessions and the upcoming birth of our own son – I’m only now really appreciating family portraiture. Not just from a photography stand point – but from the simple viewpoint of having a good photo, and being IN a good photo with the people you love the most.

We’re regularly asked, “What camera do you recommend I buy?” – and our answer is simply†the one you’ll use most often.†Because a great & expensive camera is useless if you don’t actually pick it up and take photos with it.

Now obviously there is a difference between hiring a Professional Photographer and just taking family photos with your point & shoot on a tripod, or a table – and although we suggest that everyone hire a photographer every now and then – we even MORE suggest that you take the time to make your own photos of the people you love. Because any photographer will tell you that the best photos are always the ‘in-between’ shots.

And compared to the two hours that we have with you during a session, you have opportunities everyday to take photos that we could never dream of making.

So yes – we’re always happy when you hire us and we love making beautiful photos of you and your family – but you should be making those photos that we can’t. Those are the best ones anyways.

If you would like to schedule a portrait session, purchase a package, or ask any questions – please fill out the contact form below:

It’s been a while since I photographed an event at the High Museum of Art – in fact… I’ve never actually photographed an event there. Most of the time I’m already booked, so I have to send one of our Alumni Interns along with some current Interns to get the job done. Sure we’ve had our photobooth there several times over the past year, and we even taught a photography course there back in March – but I personally haven’t photographed an even there – until this past Saturday.

So. Here’s the thing – when you photograph the Halloween celebration at the High Museum of Art Atlanta – you should aim for something better than regular ‘event’ photography.

I repeat myself a lot – especially to the Interns (partly because I get 8 new interns every 3 months, and partly because I just repeat myself a lot) – and one of the things I like to say is something along the lines of, “…stop just taking pictures of whatever’s in front of your camera – your photos should feel like they’re purposefully made. As if you as a photographer were actually doing your job and not just pressing pressing the button.”

Of course when you spew statements like that (as I tend to do) – you’d better not suck. You’d better be able to deliver the goods. Your photos need to look like you know what you’re doing – and more.†They need to look effortless and once again – better than photos that any of the guests made/could have made. Whether it’s a wedding, a corporate event, or a huge Halloween party – your shots need to rock. Not only that – but you need to make more than just a handful of ‘good’ photos. Well. That’s what †I try to do.